Series 6 Reactions So Far (FINALLY)
Sorry, guys. I promised reaction posts and then failed to follow through. Better late than never, though, right?
I keep wavering about how excited/hopeful/etc. I am for this series, mostly because my Moffat tolerance level changes from day to day. Considering how much of a RTD stan I am and how much I hate the Moff as a human being, my opinion of his writing is usually surprisingly high. Lately, though...well, I've had a lot less faith.
I'm not going to dwell on that too much, though. I can go in-depth with my Moffish misgivings another time, and right now, I'm trying to focus on (mostly...ish) the positive, because I love this show with all my heart, and there really is plenty to enjoy. Such as Karen Gillan's face.
That being said, the beginning of "The Impossible Astronaut" made me do some serious eye-rolling. There was nothing about that ~twist~ to make me feel anything. Whatsoever. Five years from now, if they killed a Doctor two hundred years older than the current one, I'd take it seriously. That could mean the end was approaching.
Wait, sorry. That is not actually true. I still could not take it seriously. This is Doctor Who, guys. It is going to be on forever, and they fucking made him officially immortal. There is no way this won't get resolved the same way all of Rory's fake deaths do--by being fake. Or getting changed. Or something. The only thing that came close to getting me emotionally involved with that part of the story was Amy crying, and at this point I'm starting to think that they've just decided that Karen Gillan crying makes everything more ~dramatic~, and they should use it in every episode.
They shouldn't. Karen is brilliant, but if that's the only way to get your audience to care, then sir, you've got a problem with your story.
On a brighter note, I really enjoyed the rest of this episode and "Day of the Moon." The pregnancy was predictable--the Schrödinger's Baby twist I didn't expect. Faking Amy and Rory's deaths at the beginning of the episode seemed a little excessive in hindsight, considering just how often Moffat does this whole not-really-dead thing, but when I was watching I was excited and it was cute. I wasn't crazy about the sudden jump forward in time; I would have liked to see the immediate aftermath of TIA, but I liked where it went. Mostly. (There was that whole genocide thing--which had better come back to bite the Doctor in the ass--and hasn't the whole aliens-have-been-controlling-the-human-race-forever thing been...done? A lot? I can't think of specific examples, but hasn't it been done before even in this show? Or did I make that up?)
On the other hand, there was Amy, Rory, and River. Rory wore specs and was generally perfect as usual, and I loved the nod to his 2,000 years of waiting. And the nod to his being a nurse, because I had almost forgotten that, and I love that about him. Amy and River are certified badasses, and I'm quite fond of the both of them.
The Amy/Rory-ness of this series so far is so precious, and I loved stupidface. (I am also rather amused that if the mystery kid is indeed theirs, she really does have a Time Head.) The Doctor/River-ness...I'm still torn. On the one hand, I really like River, and I am okay with it and could even ship it if it's done well. On the other, I am not sure it's going to be done well. Eleven's flailing during the kiss was kind of adorable, though.
Also, can I just say: CANTON EVERETT DELAWARE III. Mark Sheppard ilu 4eva. Can he please join Team TARDIS permanently? I mean, I know he can't, but can he do it anyway?
I have no feelings about "Curse of the Black Spot" other than a;dslkfja;sdfj pirate!Amy. I didn't hate it or anything. I just didn't have feeliings about it.
Oh, and who is this fucking eyepatch woman? And why are the Silence (Silents? Idk.) called that? Because it sounds cool?
Murray Gold has been a hero as usual, and the visuals have been absolutely breathtaking. Still not a fan of the new theme song (even after hearing/seeing it for all of Series 5). It's not as much fun, and the cloudy thing makes me a little claustrophobic.
But next week, NEIL GAIMAN'S EPISODE. Ugh, I am so worried that it won't live up to my expectations that I think I have started to look for reasons to doubt it. I hope it's good, though. So far it's looking a bit Tim Burton-ish, and I'm...really not a fan of Tim Burton, but I have faith in Neil. I do.
And hey, it's still gotta be better than "Daleks in Manhattan."
I keep wavering about how excited/hopeful/etc. I am for this series, mostly because my Moffat tolerance level changes from day to day. Considering how much of a RTD stan I am and how much I hate the Moff as a human being, my opinion of his writing is usually surprisingly high. Lately, though...well, I've had a lot less faith.
I'm not going to dwell on that too much, though. I can go in-depth with my Moffish misgivings another time, and right now, I'm trying to focus on (mostly...ish) the positive, because I love this show with all my heart, and there really is plenty to enjoy. Such as Karen Gillan's face.
That being said, the beginning of "The Impossible Astronaut" made me do some serious eye-rolling. There was nothing about that ~twist~ to make me feel anything. Whatsoever. Five years from now, if they killed a Doctor two hundred years older than the current one, I'd take it seriously. That could mean the end was approaching.
Wait, sorry. That is not actually true. I still could not take it seriously. This is Doctor Who, guys. It is going to be on forever, and they fucking made him officially immortal. There is no way this won't get resolved the same way all of Rory's fake deaths do--by being fake. Or getting changed. Or something. The only thing that came close to getting me emotionally involved with that part of the story was Amy crying, and at this point I'm starting to think that they've just decided that Karen Gillan crying makes everything more ~dramatic~, and they should use it in every episode.
They shouldn't. Karen is brilliant, but if that's the only way to get your audience to care, then sir, you've got a problem with your story.
On a brighter note, I really enjoyed the rest of this episode and "Day of the Moon." The pregnancy was predictable--the Schrödinger's Baby twist I didn't expect. Faking Amy and Rory's deaths at the beginning of the episode seemed a little excessive in hindsight, considering just how often Moffat does this whole not-really-dead thing, but when I was watching I was excited and it was cute. I wasn't crazy about the sudden jump forward in time; I would have liked to see the immediate aftermath of TIA, but I liked where it went. Mostly. (There was that whole genocide thing--which had better come back to bite the Doctor in the ass--and hasn't the whole aliens-have-been-controlling-the-human-race-forever thing been...done? A lot? I can't think of specific examples, but hasn't it been done before even in this show? Or did I make that up?)
On the other hand, there was Amy, Rory, and River. Rory wore specs and was generally perfect as usual, and I loved the nod to his 2,000 years of waiting. And the nod to his being a nurse, because I had almost forgotten that, and I love that about him. Amy and River are certified badasses, and I'm quite fond of the both of them.
The Amy/Rory-ness of this series so far is so precious, and I loved stupidface. (I am also rather amused that if the mystery kid is indeed theirs, she really does have a Time Head.) The Doctor/River-ness...I'm still torn. On the one hand, I really like River, and I am okay with it and could even ship it if it's done well. On the other, I am not sure it's going to be done well. Eleven's flailing during the kiss was kind of adorable, though.
Also, can I just say: CANTON EVERETT DELAWARE III. Mark Sheppard ilu 4eva. Can he please join Team TARDIS permanently? I mean, I know he can't, but can he do it anyway?
I have no feelings about "Curse of the Black Spot" other than a;dslkfja;sdfj pirate!Amy. I didn't hate it or anything. I just didn't have feeliings about it.
Oh, and who is this fucking eyepatch woman? And why are the Silence (Silents? Idk.) called that? Because it sounds cool?
Murray Gold has been a hero as usual, and the visuals have been absolutely breathtaking. Still not a fan of the new theme song (even after hearing/seeing it for all of Series 5). It's not as much fun, and the cloudy thing makes me a little claustrophobic.
But next week, NEIL GAIMAN'S EPISODE. Ugh, I am so worried that it won't live up to my expectations that I think I have started to look for reasons to doubt it. I hope it's good, though. So far it's looking a bit Tim Burton-ish, and I'm...really not a fan of Tim Burton, but I have faith in Neil. I do.
And hey, it's still gotta be better than "Daleks in Manhattan."